


Pen Pal

by sunflowerjohnny



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: 90'S, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - High School, Computers, F/M, Fluff, Français | French, Friendship, Online Friendship, Pen Pals, Pre-Relationship, Writing Exercise, set in the 90's
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-10-29 04:55:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17801423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflowerjohnny/pseuds/sunflowerjohnny
Summary: Arya signs up for a pen pal because Mademoiselle Margaery says so.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've been taking french since high school and I'm a college senior and I still know shit about French. I'm taking extra French lessons (at the beginner's level) at the French embassy and I have a final on Sunday when my brain randomly told me to write a fic in french. Of course, I reasoned with it and decided to write short French paragraphs instead. French or French speaking people, forgive me for my awkward French.
> 
> Also, this was supposed to be a friendship between Arya and Meera but decided to switch Meera with Gendry instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations are at the bottom!
> 
> p.s I only translated the paragraphs. the other ones were mostly introductions and are easy to look up.

The sound of the bell ringing filled the entire hallway, indicating the beginning of fifth period. The students were still chattering as they waited for their teacher to come in and start the class.

“Bonjour à tous!” The French teacher was a young woman in her mid to late twenties. Her hair was a rich chocolate brown color that cascaded down her back in beautiful curls. Her eyes were the color of clear blue skies and her lips were pink and soft. She asked for the students to call her Mademoiselle Margaery. Perhaps that’s why many students decided to take French classes.

Despite her beauty and kind eyes, she was a very strict teacher. She didn’t tolerate students being late to her class or disturbing the class in any way. One time, Theon was whispering and snickering to his friend Thomas when Mademoiselle Margaery heard them and banned them from entering the class for the rest of the week. His mother was not happy but Mademoiselle Margaery was too good of a teacher for the principle to fire her. So, instead, the principle gave her a “stern talking to” to calm down his mother.

“Alright, class. So, you know my policy on speaking English in class, right?” The teacher asked as she began to erase the white board and right the day and date.

“Yes.” Muttered the class in reply as they remembered the first day of their class where Mademoiselle Margaery spoke in French the entire class. Luckily, she explained everything in English the next day.

“Today, I will speak in English to help you understand the goal of today’s class.” Margaery said once she was done with the board and faced her students.

“You will be signing up for a pen pal!” She said with a smile adoring her lips. She ignored some of the groans from the students and began to hand out the piece of paper that had the directions on how to access the website and how to sign in.

Arya Stark was one of the few students to groan at the news. Arya loved her French class, and she loved her teacher especially more. She was one of those women who had the ability to look as beautiful as an angel but are also totally badass. She reminded her so much of her sister Sansa. So, why did Arya groan? Simple, she didn’t like making friends. She is as social as any other person but she didn’t trust people very easily. Plus, sharing your personal information online seemed creepy to her.

“Alright, now.” Mademoiselle Margery spoke up as she stood in front of the door of the class room, “Please form a line of twos and follow me down to the computer lab.”

“I call dibs on Arya!” Hot-Pie, a chubby boy with equally chubby cheeks and curly hair announced to the class, causing the students to chuckle at the bubbly boy and for Arya to groan as he came to stand beside her.

“Hot-Pie, you don’t have to announce to the whole class that you want to be my partner. Just come to me and ask me.” Arya grumbled as she followed the other students outside of the class room and down the stairs to the computer room.

“I know,” Hot-Pie replied cheerfully, his grumpy friend not affecting him at all, “I just wanted to make sure no one partnered up with you.”

The computer lab is a new room at Winterfell High. Equipped with all the Apple computers that were released from last year, 1997. Winterfell is a financially well off school that could afford such computers due to it being a private school. The school had a uniform policy but other than that, the school wasn’t so bad. Sure, you have your bullies and cliques like every other school but it’s relatively peaceful and the teachers are easy going.

The link that Mademoiselle Margaery had given them led them to a website that had disgusting bright colors: blue headers, green fonts and orange scroll bars. It gave Arya a headache as she read the French words in ugly green.

“I’ll give you 20 minutes to sign up and find a match. Once time’s up, I want you to write a short letter to your (15-20 sentences) pen pal. Of course, you don’t have to share your actual information. Safety first!” Margaery instructed the class. It was obvious she was ecstatic about technology and the idea of being able to send and receive letters for free.

_Quelle votre langue maternelle?_

Was the first question on the sign-up page.

Arya quickly typed out her answer, _anglais_.

_Autre langue?_

It took Arya about ten minutes to fill out the sign-up page and upload a picture (that she downloaded from the school’s online website) for her profile and waited for a match. She wasn’t specific with what kind of person she wanted to befriend. She just wrote down that she was looking for someone with a good taste in music (Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Ramones, Michael Jackson.), likes automobiles and is a fan of comic books. About three minutes after she submitted her form, the computer _dinged_ and a banner with _1 match found!_ blinked in red. Arya clicked on it and it redirected her to a profile of a guy in his freshman year of college at King’s Landing University.

Another ding sounded from the computer and on the bottom corner of the page, a blue light blinked. Arya clicked on it and she was entered into a small chat room.

_TheBull: Bonjour._

_SheWolf: Bonjour._

_SheWolf: Je m’appelle Arya. Et Vous? Vous vous appelez comment?_

Arya tried not to cringe at having to speak with a stranger in such a formal tone of voice but she knows that Mademoiselle Margaery would raise hell if Arya disregarded her instructions.

_TheBull: Je suis Gendry._

“Alright, class. Quiet down!” Margaery called out to her students, “I’m sure that all of you have found a match by now.” At the students’ agreement, she continued, “I want you to inform your pen pal that you are going to write a short introduction letter and ask them if they would like to. You may leave once you’ve sent your letter.”

_SheWolf: Gendry, je dois ecrire un petit lettre pour ma Français classe. Est-ce que ça va?_

_TheBull: D’accord. Vous commencez._

Arya inhaled deeply and cracked her knuckles before she began typing her short letter to Gendry.

_Cher Gendry,_

_Je m’appelle Arya. Je suis Anglaise et j’habite à Winterfell. J’ai 17 ans.  J’ai quatre frères et une sœur. Nous avons tous, comment on dit… << Dire wolves >>. Mes grands frères sont les deux étudiants universitaires. Ma grand sœur est étudiant au lycée. Mon petit frères sont des collégiens. J’étudie au lycée. Ma favorite sujets est: l'histoire, l’anglais et la musique. Je n’aime pas les mathématiques. Je joue la foot, la guitar et les jeux vidéos. J’aime ecouté la musique. J’adore le musique rock mais je détesté la musique classique. Et vous? Quelle est votre nationalité? Que est votre âge? Quelle est votre profession? Qu'est-ce que tu aimes et n'aimes pas?_

_Cordialement,_

_Arya *_

It wasn’t very difficult to write a letter in French. Sure, she had to stop and ask Mademoiselle Margaery for clarifications and translations here and there but, overall, it was easy. Most of the things that she wrote in the letter, she already knew. After proof readings her letter and is satisfied with what she wrote, she clicked on the send button and logged off of her account and left the computer lab to return to her classroom and wait for her next class.

Later that night, after she had dinner with her family and finished her homework, she went into her father’s computer room and logged into her account.

The website showed that she had three new friend requests and one new message. With an excited smile, Arya accepted the requests and opened Gendry’s letter.

_Cher Arya,_

_Je m’appelle Gendry. Je suis Anglais aussi et j’habite à King’s Landing. J’ai 19 ans. Je n’ai pas frères et sœurs mais j’ais deux chiens. Ils sont appelés Hunter et Spike. J’étudie ingénierie mécanique. Mon favorite sujet es mathématiques. J’aime le musique rock aussi. J’adore Nirvana et Pink Floyd. Je joue de la batterie et la foot. J'aime aussi lire des livres mais je n'ai pas de livre préféré. Ravi de vous envoyer un email, Arya._

_Cordialement,_

_Gendry**_

Arya’s smile never disappeared while reading Gendry’s email. She felt giddy over their shared interests and couldn’t wait to get to know more of him. Arya quickly typed out her response. Something told her that the two of them would be best friends.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Dear Gendry,
> 
> My name is Arya. I am English and I live in Winterfell. I am 17 years old. I have four brothers and a sister. We all, how do we say ... << say wolves >>. My older brothers are the two university students. My older sister is a high school student. My little brothers are college students. I study at high school. My favorite subjects are: history, english and music. I do not like math. I play football, guitar and video games. I like listening to music. I love rock music but I hate classical music. And you? What is your nationality? What is your age? What is your profession? What do you like and do not like?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Arya
> 
>  
> 
> ** Dear Arya,
> 
> My name is Gendry. I am English too and I live in King's Landing. I'm 19. I do not have siblings but I have two dogs. They are called Hunter and Spike. I study mechanical engineering. My favorite subject is mathematics. I like rock music too. I love Nirvana and Pink Floyd. I play drums and football. I also like reading books but I do not have a favorite book. Nice to send you an email, Arya.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Gendry


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I am not a native nor a fluent French speaker. I am merely learning the language and trying to improve in it. 
> 
> I had to use google translate since there were a lot of words I didn't know in French :(
> 
> Translation is located at the bottom!

It’s been a month since Arya last contacted Gendry. She didn’t want to wait so long but Mademoiselle Margaery strictly instructed them not to communicate with their pen pals unless she told them to. She claimed that she didn’t want the students to speak to their new friends in English and not progressing their French skills. Arya understands this but she misses Gendry. He seemed very interesting from the short messages they’ve shared and she wanted to learn more about him.

Luckily, Mademoiselle Margaery led them to the computer lab today to work on their new assignment: writing a letter to describe their hometown using the new vocabularies they’ve learned this month.

Arya had a small smile as she eagerly logged into her account and opened the chatroom between her and Gendry, ignoring the many friend requests that she had received over the past month.

**SheWolf:** _Gendry! Je suis désolé. Je n’ai écrit pas. C’est  parce que notre professeur  nous a dit de ne pas. *_

She then explained the purpose of their assignment to Gendry after Mademoiselle Margaery instructed them to do so in case the other party gets confused.

**SheWolf:** _J’habite à Winterfell. Il fait très froid ici parce que c’est tout au nord. Il n’y a pas beaucoup d’endroits intéressants à Winterfell. Nous avons un centre commercial mais il est petit. C’est près de la gare. Nous avons également la plus ancienne bibliothèque des sept royaumes et c’est en face de la rivière donc c'est très beau, surtout quand il neige. Nous avons également un marché ouvert tous les week-ends de 8h à 17h. Ils vendent principalement des plats maison, des fruits, des légumes et des sauces. Enfin, nous avons le musée Winterfell situé derrière le marché. Il est vieux mais ils l'ont récemment refait afin qu'il soit mieux maintenant.**_

Right as Arya sent her message, the bell rang. Singnaling the end of class. Arya was a bit disappointed because she really wanted to read Gendry’s response but it took her a long time to write her letter because she had to look up word in her dictionary and ask Mademoiselle Margaery how to conjugate some words for her since they haven’t learned it yet.

 

Gendry did not respond until about two weeks after Arya had sent her message and to say that Arya was happy was an understatement, she was ecstatic. Her heart fluttered as she clicked on Gendry’s new message and read what he had written back to her.

**TheBull:** _Cela fait longtemps que nous n’avons pas parlé :) ***_

**TheBull:** _Common ça va? ****_

**TheBull:** _Votre ville natale semble belle. J'ai l'impression que ce serait relaxant d'y vivre. *****_

**TheBull:** _Voulez-vous connaître ma ville natale? ******_

Biting her lip to prevent from a smile forming, she wrote that she was doing well and that she would love to hear about Gendry’s hometown.

**TheBull:** _D'accord. J'habite à Fleabottom à King's Landing. C'est une très grande ville et il est facile de s'y perdre. Il fait très chaud à King's Landing parce que c'est au sud. Nous avons beaucoup de centres commerciaux, de musées, de bibliothèques mais nous n’avons pas de rivière comme vous. Je ne sais pas quoi dire de plus puisque je ne parle pas très bien le français. Peut-être qu'un jour tu peux me rendre visite et voir :) *******_

“Oh my god.” Arya breathed out after she had read Gendry’s message (of course she had to look at her dictionary for certain words because Gendry is a college students and he has a bit more vocabulary and grammar knowledge than her but she understood most of what he said).

Her fingers were shaking as she typed out her response, face blushing redder than a tomato.

**SheWolf:** _Je aimerais visiter. ********_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Gendry! I am sorry. I did not write. This is because our teacher told us not to.
> 
> ** I live in Winterfell. It's very cold here because it's all the way north. There are not many places of interest in Winterfell. We have a shopping center but it is small. It's near the train station. We also have the oldest library of the seven kingdoms and it is in front of the river so it is very beautiful, especially when it snows. We also have a market open every weekend from 8am to 5pm. They sell mostly homemade dishes, fruits, vegetables and sauces. Finally, we have the Winterfell Museum behind the market. It is old but they have recently redone it so that it is better now.
> 
> *** It's been a long time since we talked :)
> 
> **** how are you?
> 
> ***** Your hometown looks beautiful. I feel like it would be relaxing to live there.
> 
> ****** Do you want to know my hometown?
> 
> ******* Okay. I live in Fleabottom at King's Landing. It's a very big city and it's easy to get lost. It's very hot in King's Landing because it's south. We have a lot of shopping centers, museums, libraries but we do not have a river like you. I do not know what else to say since I do not speak French very well. Maybe one day you can visit me and see :)
> 
> ******** I would like to visit.

**Author's Note:**

> I might write a sequel if people are interested! Feedbacks are appreciated ^^


End file.
